BY Emeka Aginam

The Minister of Communications Technology, Mrs. Jonson Omobola was in Lagos recently to unveil a job creation scheme ‘’Microwork for Job Creation-Naijacloud’’ that seeks to reduce unemployment and create wealth for Nigerian youths. The project  with support from the STEP-B project of the Ministry of Education, according to the Minister would address the issues of employability and job creation using information technology. She also talks on a number of industry issues in Nigeria. Excerpts:

What is Microwork and E-Lancing initiative all about?
We have recognized that Information and Communication Technology is the fastest growing sector of the Nigerian economy. It is currently growing at 30 per cent and has maintained that for the past five years. The belief of the ministry is that the country can leverage on it for improved productivity. After much brainstorming, we came up with the idea. This is in partnership with Science and Technology Education Post-Basic (STEP-B) World Bank for job creation in Nigeria. As you know the STEP-B project is about improving science and technology.

The total amount for the project (STEP-B) is around $180 million and it includes what we are doing with the National University Commission on fibre-optic laying across Nigerian institutions in the country. The project is going live in Lagos and Abuja, but that of Kano will be on soonest. We have about seven sessions that will still come up, because it is going to be gradual. Our hope is that every individual that registered on this platform will actually begin to get work and get money. So this is something that you can see the result immediately.

*Communication Technology Minister, Omobola Johnson

However, to earn more money depends on the individual, how well he or she was able to handle the work given and improve his or her profile. The initiative is coming with great opportunities. It will create jobs, though without actually creating a company. Participants can sit at home with a PC and Internet connection and all that can be done without even going out. It will aggregate work for microworkers and rub off well for Nigerians and the economy.

You said both Lagos and Abuja are on, while Kano will be later. Are there challenges hindering the take off in Kano?

There are no challenges. I think the issue is that this being the first time, we just thought it fit that we should start on pilot phases. The fact remains that nothing was stopping us from going to Kano next week, but we believe that we should take them one after the other. We are sure of getting Kano started any moment from now. We are also going to extend this initiative to other states. Yobe, Osun and some have their representatives around. It is a nationwide programme.

Participants are complaining of not having the ability to access money, especially through some channels. There are arrangements to ensure a seamless process, reason why it took us about six months to get started. We have local payment switches. We are partnering with Interswitch on that so that people can get paid in Nigeria. PayPal is not part of this programme.

Can we know the number of participants at the take off and the criteria for choosing them?
At the start today, about three classes were on. I think we have over 900 participants presently. The other session will be for another 900 people. This means that we shall be training about 900 people every session. There are no criteria like that. But what we ensured is that a participant can speak English, be able to use a computer and you registered. This is an initiative we believe will have a life of its own as we progress in it.

All that is required is for the person to register on the platform. The beauty of this initiative is that the participants only need the present training we are giving them now. All that is required like I said earlier is for such participants to understand what is involved, register and get the training, then such person can go home, become a micro worker and earn money. This initiative is happening all over the world on a large scale, but we are starting in Nigeria on a gradual basis so that we can really achieve something, especially in bridging the unemployment gap.

You have been canvassing for improved local content development in the country, but surprisingly, the PCs being used for this training are foreign brands. We didn’t see the likes of Zinox, Omatek and others that are indigenous?

Well, we are still very much committed to local content development. The Digital Bridge is 100 per cent behind local content development. I believe that as they procure more computers, indigenous computers will be appreciated. I know you are aware of the Student PC ownership scheme we are working on. We are working on getting more Nigerians to patronize the local brands.

You were in Lagos penultimate Thursday, where you said that you are targeting improved broadband connectivity in the country by 2017. Now, how does this Microwork scheme fit into your broadband strategy?

Broadband has a lot to do with the Microwork scheme. The global platform by which people will access this initiative is through the Internet. So, it is very important for us to ensure that as we roll out this programme, people actually have access to the Internet no matter where they are in the country. The criteria for the Microwork is that as long as you have a computer, you can type, understand English, you are good to go.

The E-Lancing appears to be a bit higher in the sense that it involves programming, software development skills, which is really part of what we are discussing and ensuring that we have Nigerians that can develop software not just for the Nigerian market, but globally.